Improvement in military observatories



heavy artillery, and is ported on four wheels,

UNITEDn STATES Y PATENT OFFICE. L

IMPROVEMENT IN MILITARY osslalavA'rouuis.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 37,207,

.To all whom-it nmy concern,.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS WELHAM, of N emaha county, in the Territory 0i Nebraska, havge invented a new and useful Portable Military-Observatory; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and correct description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which` Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved apparatus; and Fig. 2, an enlargedview of parts of two oil the supporting rods or shaftpieces, showing the mode of uniting them.

The object of my invention is to provide for the use of armies in the lield a portable and convenient apparatus by which an extensive View from a considerable height can at any time be commanded, for whatever Apurpose such a view may be necessary or desirable. To attain this object, the only appliance now on use is the balloon, which is at once cumbrous, expensive, and uncertain, and extremelyliable to injury or destruction. f

The great Napoleon on some occasions made use of a wooden tower of considerable height, from the top of which lle commandeda view of thetield of batt-le and directed its operations but such a tower could only-be removed to a new situation by being taken down and rebuilt, at great expense of time and labor and difiiculty of transportation, while my observatory can be as readily transported as a piece of ready for use as soon as it arrives at the spot selected.

The nature of my invention consists in the construction, substantially in the manner hereinafter more particularly described, of a movable signal-tower, observatory, or lookout, by which an observer can be raised, when required, to a very considerable height, so as to be able to secure a survey of an extensive prospect or communicate by signals to a great distance-objects of great value in military operations.

To enable others to make and usemy observatory, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation, referring to the drawings by theletters of reference marked thereon.

A marks the lower platform, which is supwhich should be so arranged as to be readily removable. From the corners of this platform rise four posts, C, in-

clined inward, as shown, and braced by cross-` -ner as to be dated December 16, 1862.

l framing at D and E. They are surmounted at top by a circular platform, F, which isperforated in the cen ter for the passage of the upright shaft. The cross-framing D supports a floor, G, on which the operators who raise the shaft stand.. This floor has a large openingin the center for the passage of the shaft, and through which the sections of the shaft are passed as they are successively added or taken Y,

oft. Supported by cross-pieces H is a short shaft, i, having cogs, which engage similar cogs on the upright shaft-pieces. 0n oneL or both ends of this shaft 'i is a winch, J, for turning it, and a ratchet, K, having a springpawl, L, controlled by a lever-eccentric, M.

marks the observatory or lookout, which is a cylinder of y material, having an opening in one side for the entrance ofthe observer, and proper apertures .for taking observations in all directions. This observatory is attached, in such a manreadily removable, to 'the upper end of the upper section, N, of the upright supportingshaft. It has rings or staples q (or pulleys, if preferred) on its lower edge, for the passage of guy-ropes R.

The shaft which supports the observatory is composed of lengths or sections'N P, &c., of about ten feet inl length, of iron tubing ot' about two or two and one-half inches diameter, having cogs on one side, as shown, and a threaded socket at one end and-a projecting screw at the other. The screw and socket are for the purpose of effecting the secure junc tion of the sections, and it is obvious that various other modes of doing this might be employed-such, for instance, as a smooth socket and tube with a bayonet-joint. The sections should lap sufficiently to make a perfectly firm union.

Attached to the upper platform, F, and depending from it and projecting some distance above it, is a tube or sleeve, S, which extends down as far as the cross-piece E, and is secured firmly there. This tube is of the proper size to receive the upright shaftwhich fits .it snugly, but passes ireelythrough it. It has aslitin one side to allow the cogs 011 the shaft to engage with those of the pinioushaft The oice of this sleeve is to hold the upright shaft rmly and prevent la-teral movement in it.

sheet-iron or other suitable effect of winds, &c.

given of equally from the roller V turning distances.

T marks a stanchion on the upper platform, and U a ladder by which said platform is reached from theground.

V marks a roller, turned by a winch, W, around which the guyropes R are wound. A ratchet and pawl, X, control the mot-ion of this roller in one direction in theusual manner. The guy-ropes It pass upward from the.. loller V through apertures in iioor G and platform E, and are rove through the rings or pulleys q on the bottom of the observatory, whence they pass at an angle to the ground,

' Vand areV securelyV faste-ned'to stakes Y, as

shown. The office of these guys is to secure the observatory laterally from the swaying The guy-ropes are all as the shaft lises, and can all be y tightened equally by the roller in the opposite direction from that which releases them.

The number of shaft-joints employed is regulated by the height desired to be attained. I believe that an elevation of several hundred feet is safely practicable by this apparatus.

The operation is as follows: The upper joint or section of the shaft surlnounted by the observatory O being in place, the guyropes arerun through the rings -q and fastened to lthe stakes Yat proper and. equal The observer then takes his position, and, by means of the winch J, the upper shaftrpiece, N, is raised until its lower end is high enough to admit of a second length, P, being added from below. This is done by an attendant standing on the lower platform, A, where the unused lengths of shaft are piled,

jand who attaches each successive section by 4inserting the screw end into the threaded socket in the lower end of the preceding sec tion. When a new sgction is thus securely united, the winch is again operated and the shaft again elevated until its lower end is high enough to receive another length from below, which is added as before, and so on as long as further elevation is required. As the shaft rises,the guy-ropes are equally given oli' from the .roller V, the pawl being thrown out ot gear. When the requisite elevation is attained, the guys can be tightened by giving the proper turns to roller V, the ratchet holding all the slack that is wound up. The descent of the observatory is accomplished by reversing these operations.

Various YVmodifications of the apparatus may be made without ailecting the principle of my invention. For example,instead of usingcogs on the sides of the shaft-sections, I may prefer to perforate them with a series of holes so arranged as to receive The observatory may lalso be so constructed that it can be rotated on its vertical axis at the will of its occupant.

Having thusfully described my invention,l what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The construction of an observatory, lookout, or signal-station in such a manner that it can be elevated, when desired, to any required and practicable height by the addition of successive lengths or sections to the lower end of its supporting-shaft, substantially in the manner described.

The above specication of my said invention signedand witnessed, at Washington, this 11th day of November, A. D. 1862.

, THOS. WELHAM.

Witnesses GHAs. F. STANS'BURY, EDM. F. BROWN.

the teeth of pinion i. l 

